S&l Buys Unfinished Building

An unfinished office building in Pembroke Pines was sold at auction on Monday for $1.15 million to the firm that provided a construction loan to the building`s imprisoned developer.

Coral Gables Federal Savings and Loan Association was sole bidder at the court-ordered foreclosure sale in the lobby of the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. The firm loaned developer John V. Capozzi $1.75 million in 1984 to build the three-story, glass-enclosed complex at 1450 University Drive.

The association is expected to renovate and sell the building to recoup its investment.

Pembroke Pines city officials were relieved that Coral Gables Federal will get the building. For years, the city has been calling the building unsightly and has cited Capozzi for code violations. Last year, the city sought to have the building demolished as unsafe.